Drink-N-Drag Is What We Did

We’ve had several people tell us of their fondness for this large lady in red sign. It is no doubt her vibrant mood and color could attract anyone. And we’ve had several people ask of her location. Perhaps this is because you once recognized her as one of Danny’s girls, one of two signs presenting “Danny’s Place”, a topless club owned by the famous Danny Owens.

Though currently she stands in downtown Memphis. On a large building numbered 616, she still smiles with those luscious black lips that say “Come on in, darlin’.” Naturally, with enough curiosity, that is exactly what I did.

On a Friday night, a friend and I paid the cover to enter into the building at 616. It is a place called Club Spectrum Memphis. There is nothing on the building which displays this name but rather on the front of the building is the sign “Drink -n- Drag” paired nicely with a pair of legs. Man or woman? We can’t say.

We came with not much knowledge or expectations and left with a good time. The bar is embellished with several giant white lips upon the wall and we were greeted by some of the friendliest bartenders we’ve ever met. The wall on the opposite end is lavished with a waterfall and in the center of the room is a circular stage with a single pole. We learned there are two additional rooms they open on Saturday nights for the larger crowd. The left room is a lounge area, the middle room (the room we were in) for the shows, and the room at the right is mainly dance and techno.

Being their first and early customers, we were kindly given pole lessons from a couple of the bartenders as well as samples of their latest liquor mixes. I wouldn’t be lying if I said I was slightly jealous of how much better these guys were at working the pole than myself.. I certainly need to progress more on my core strength.

Then at midnight, the drag show begins production. Men who look like dames can lip sync rather skillfully as they modestly and gracefully retrieve dollar bills from both men and women. They are talented, and again, I won’t be lying when I say I was rather jealous that some had better curves than myself. Woe is me…

Thanks to Erin Marie Adelman for joining me in discovering a bit more on this establishment and its crew. It was a great way to celebrate her passing the big National Counselor Exam. Cheers and congrats! (Erin Marie below)

MTH 101:

Memphis Type History is a project by Caitlin Horton and Rebecca Phillips. We collect your stories and search out the rumor and lore behind Memphis' greatest signs and best historical places. This is Memphis as Memphians know it.